Mountaints & Gorges
The high mountains are one of the characteristics of the Cretan landscape. They are composed of limestone. The geological upheavals which created basins and plateaux also formed a large number of impressive caves, many of which were used for religious purposes during antiquity. The mountains of Crete make up a section of the Dinaric -Taurus chain, which starts in the Dinaric Alps and comprises the mountains of Albania, Pindus, the Peloponnese, Kythira – Antikythira, Crete, Karpathos and Rhodos, and ends in Taurus in Asia Minor.
These massifs form three large mountain complexes, each with its own personality. Between the ranges lie the Mountainmountainous or semi – mountainous zones which cover the greater part of the land. There is a third lower zone along the coast and in the interior. In western Crete, the area of Hania, are the White Mountains or Madares, a large mountain complex with scores of peaks, the highest of which is Pachnes (2453 m.). Ida or Psiloritis, a single elongated mountain mass whose highest peak is Timios Stavros (2456 m.), constitutes the main mountain complex and is also the highest point in Crete.
On the western side of eastern Crete is Dikti or the Lassithi Mountains, a range with many peaks, the highest being the anonymous “2148”. The well – known plateau of Lassithi (402 sq. km.) spreads out between the peaks.
On the south side of the island are lower, mountains such as Kedros (1777 m.), which is separated from the Ida mountain range by the Amari valley. There is another small mountain range north of Ida, Kouloukonas, known in antiquity as the Tallaia mountains. The Mylopotamos valley lies between them. Mount Kophinas (the Asterousia Mountains, highest peak 1231 m.) lies to the south of the plain of Messara.
Finally, there are two large mountain complexes in the province of Sitia: to the west the Sitian mountains (the highest peaks are Kliros, 1320 m. and Aphendis Kavousi, 1476 m.) and to the east lower mountains (the highest peaks are Playia, 819 m. and Prinias, 803 m.).
Samaria One of the principal features of the Cretan landscape is the many ravines which cut through the island from north to south. Most of them start in the mountainous zone and end near the sea. Their role in preserving the rare flora and fauna of the island is enormous, because they are the only regions that remain far – removed from all human activity. The best known, both for its size and its beauty, is the Gorge of Samaria, the famous “Pharangas” which is 18 km. long and which ranges from 3 m. wide at its narrowest point to 150 m. and requires five to seven hours to traverse.